I think the game is very enjoyable on a first playthrough when you are looking for all of the secret areas and just enjoying the world, you can get about 90 minutes of exploration out of it, but the character is effectively immortal because he respawns where he died, you lose some currency for cosmetic unlocks but it's not a significant amount. If you don't care for collection you can casually complete the game in 1 hour or less. The death only matters if you are doing a speedrun, which you do need to do for some unlocks like the songs, granted they are not challenging and if you want those achievements it will not be very time consuming (I got all the time-attack challenges with no practice, it's not that difficult). The hard mode has 1 less heart which in a practical sense, makes no difference because you are not losing any more progress. To be clear, I don't mind easy games, but in a long run, I think it makes the replay value for this game less appealing, and I think the hard mode should have been different, maybe the death would respawn you at the start of the stage, and I think it would need a few new enemies with ranged attacks.
The music was actually the most enjoyable part of the game for me, it's pretty awesome and the game even comes with a music player, but you will need to unlock the songs by doing the challenges. In addition to the adventure mode with multiple save slots, you can unlock the arcade mode with limited time, and the time-attack mode that just puts a timer on your playthrough with an option to enable your ghosts. I actually didn't enjoy the first 2 areas in the game, but the level design and the visuals improved later in the game, if you are nostalgic for the 8-bit aesthetic I think you will enjoy it overall. The game has a TON of filters in a form of color palettes, and you can switch between them at any point if they are unlocked. In addition, there are a few other cosmetic options such as hats and lenses.
Even though the secrets in this game are not very difficult, I think the level design is enjoyable and it's fun to look for those hidden walls and obscured paths. I don't have much to say in terms of platforming timing, it's pretty solid for what it is, but the game does not add much to change it. I will say I didn't like that character could not swing on some of the objects once they stopped. After I completed the game it would not allow me to go back and get all of the collectibles and I was only a few short of the achievement.
[h1] Pros: [/h1]
(+) If you do like that 8-bit aesthetic, the game has a relatively enjoyable level design (depending on the area), a lot of color palettes, cosmetic hats, and lenses. The stage design also has a lot of hidden walls so it's fun to navigate the game, at least the first time you play it. For the most part, the platforming timing is very tight, I don't have much to say there.
(+) Music was really the highlight of the game for me, I hope it's unique to this game because it was exceptionally good. You can also use the music player in the menu and unlock the songs for it.
(+) After you beat the game you can try other modes like arcade and the time-attack. You can also do various challenges to unlock more music and some colors if I am not mistaken. Good achievement support.
Apparently, there are some host-based multiplayer mechanics too, but I don't really have anyone to test what they do exactly.
[h1] FeedBack: [/h1]
[u] Nitpicks [/u] - I wish you could swing on those chandeliers even when they stopped, like left to right. You should ask the player at the end of the game if they want to go back and finish exploring, I was at like 98% and now I am not going to replay it.
[u] Hard Mode [/u] - right now it's the same as normal mode, having 2 hearts makes no difference because you still respawn where you die. Hard mode, should be a hard mode, not immortal mode. Maybe 3 lives, I also felt like the game needed more enemy variety, perhaps a few ranged enemies, at least for hard mode. The boss fights were pretty underwhelming. I mean feel free to disagree, but I don't see the point of a hard mode right now, might as well not even have it.
[u] Optional Widescreen [/u] - I understand that you don't want to stretch it, but some of us have very big screens, I had to move my head closer to PC the entire run. If possible to do it, keep the map somewhere too.
[b] Overall Thoughts: 8/10 [/b]
Personally, I wanted the game to be a little more challenging toward the end, but if you want to play it one time and just enjoy the music and look for secrets, it's still very fun for 90 minutes or so. There are various unlocks, but I don't know, the game is just too easy for me to care and replay it. Anyway, still better than I expected, I think the music by itself was worth it.
[code]For more niche, obscure or underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
